Theorising the value of collage in exploring educational leadership

Abstract

This article contributes to theorising the value of collage as a methodological approach. It begins with a discussion of the methodological difficulties of exploring hidden meanings and individual experience through the research process. The illuminative potential of arts-based methodologies in qualitative research is then investigated. The article makes the case for the specific advantages of using collage to explore the experience of leadership, through a discussion of two collage-based studies. It proposes a variant of the 'think aloud' process, used in conjunction with collage, as a route to producing deep understandings of the multiple ways in which leadership is experienced and understood as a social process. The argument is made that collage enables the accessing and sharing of profound levels of experience not accessible through words alone, and considers the impact of the physicality of collage on its potential to release these profound insights. A five-stage process for the analysis of collage is then set out. The article concludes by offering a theory of the value of collage as a methodological approach to exploring experiences of leadership, through use of the concepts of physicality, wholeness and participant agency.

The unspoken power of collage? Using an innovative arts-based research method to explore the experience of struggling as a teacher

“…Arts-based and visual methods are increasingly positioned as 'effective ways to address complex questions in social science' (Kara, 2015: 3). Such methods can allow participants to slow down and honour the process of meaning-making of their unique experiences (Loads, 2009;Roberts and Woods, 2018). Collage has the capacity to act as a means to help conceptualize ideas (Roberts and Woods, 2018).…”

“…Such methods can allow participants to slow down and honour the process of meaning-making of their unique experiences (Loads, 2009;Roberts and Woods, 2018). Collage has the capacity to act as a means to help conceptualize ideas (Roberts and Woods, 2018). It also has the ability to both 'shock and surprise' (Burge et al, 2016: 735).…”

“…One of the arguments for using such a visual method is that we live in an increasingly 'ocularcentric' culture (Mitchell, 2011), where images form a vital part of our everyday worlds and influence both how we see ourselves and how others see us (Mannay et al, 2018). Furthermore, arts-based research offers an alternative way of representing the subtleties of experience, profound feelings and understandings (Roberts and Woods, 2018) in creative, non-linear ways (for example, Loads, 2009;Roberts and Woods, 2018). The teachers in this study are 'only too familiar with speaking and writing' (Burge et al, 2016: 735), and so an unfamiliar arts-based method of representation can offer the opportunity to pause for thought, ponder, hesitate and examine assumptions 'instead of repeating familiar viewpoints or quickly coming to settled conclusions' (ibid.…”

“…Collage creation allows the participant to engage physically and have agency in the process (Roberts and Woods, 2018), both of which I see as advantages for this exploration of experience. Participants make the collage independently, at their own pace, and they are able to reflect, move pieces and rearrange as their thinking develops (ibid.).…”

The theory and uses of metaphor in educational administration and leadership: a rejoinder

“…Metaphor also provides a qualitative research method that can better capture the inner world of participants through their personalities, beliefs, values, concepts and their fears, aspirations and ambitions(Argyropoulou and Hatira 2014) Roberts and Woods (2018). argue in their examination of collage for education leadership research that metaphor creation captures a broad experiential range, and Paranosic and Riveros' (2017) analytic use of exploring how school department heads understand their roles through the metaphors they use can illuminate the social construction of their roles.…”